Union Laws in the United States and their Impact on Union-Management Relationship (Essay Sample)

Union Laws in the United States and their Impact on Union-Management Relationship
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Enactment of the Railway Law Act in 1926 marked a remarkable development of labor relations in the United States of America. The main objective of the Act was to prevent the interruption of trade and commerce by strikes. The railway sector was characterized by decades of labor unrest and at times the federal soldiers would intervene making them violent CITATION Nat11 \l 1033 (NMB, 2011). To quell these unrests by way of legislation, then the President Calvin Coolidge proposed that the workers’ unions and the railway board develop suggestions premised on negotiations as a means of addressing strikes rather than violence. These suggestions were meant to stabilize the labor relations between the rail workers and the management of railroads. The president then assented to the recommendations and the Law was effective as from May 1926 worker CITATION Her71 \l 1033 (Northrup, 1971).
This Act introduced important changes to the labor legal regime in the United States. This law allowed the workers to elect their representatives without the interference of the Railway Management authority or employer. The Supreme Court upheld this provision when a claim of unconstitutionality of the Railway Labor Act was brought before it CITATION Tex30 \l 1033 (Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co V Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, 1930).
Further, the Act places on the parties the obligation of exhausting all the reasonable ways of solving disputes. Major (disputes affecting pay and working conditions) and minor (disputes from interpretation of agreements) disputes were distinguished in the Act. The railway board was given exclusive jurisdiction for minor disputes while collective bargaining was the requirement in the case of a major dispute. CITATION Way10 \l 1033 (McNaughton, 2010). This provision came in to remedy the threat of strikes from resorting into violence. In 1934, amendments were introduced to this act to guarantee the worker the right to join and participate in union activities.
Another important labor law was the Norris-LaGuardia Act which was also known as the Anti-Injunction Act. It was enacted in 1932 with the main purpose being to limit the powers of the Federal court on issuing injunctions against union activities during labor disputes. This law also prohibited "yellow-dog contracts”. This was a condition imposed on the employees’ contract requiring them not to join or participate in union activities. Such conditions were declared unenforceable in a federal court CITATION Ric15 \l 1033 (Richard H. Clough, 2015).
This law buttressed the right of workers to join and participate in union activities. It protected the worker and unions more than the employer. The limitation of the jurisdiction of the court on issuing injunctions against union activities transformed the unions into very powerful organizations. Managements were thus forced to yield to demands of the unions in most cases. However, managements or employers could still get injunctions where the actions of the union were in violation of the Supreme Law or in violation of a no-strike arbitration pledge.
The enactment of the Wagner Act which was also referred to as the National Labor Relations Act was of monumental importance to the unions. The premise for enactment of this law was the protection of union organizing activities and promotion of collective bargaining. Pursuant to the Act, an employer is precluded from infringing on the rights of worker to participate in union activities. The employer is prohibited from discriminating against such a worker CITATION Ric15 \l 1033 (Richard H. Clough, 2015).
In addition, during negotiations the employer was required to bargain guided by the principle of uberrimae fidei. This meant that the employer will bargain in good faith with the employees or the union. This Act established an enforcement agency called the National Labor Relations Board. Its main function was to oversee the labor relations between employers and the unions who were acting on behalf of the employees.
The effects of this Act were felt almost instantaneously. This law never imposed any limitation on the employees in their relations with the employer. As such it bestowed upon unions excessive powers. This excessive powers and high-handedness by unions provided the rationale for checking and reducing the immense powers they had. This culminated in the enactment of the War Labor Disputes Act. Noteworthy, the major effect of the enactment of the Wagner Act was evidenced by the increase in number of workers joining unions.
The Tart Hartley Act enacted in 1947 sought to remedy the imbalance that the Wagner Act had brought into the labor realm. In contradistinction to the Wagner Act, this Act imposed checks on the activities of unions or organized labor. Notably, this Act embodied the right to participate in the activities of a union which included picketing, or to refrain from such participation. Moreover, the Tart Hartley Act defined what unfair labor practices were. This was an encompassing definition that included unfair practices on both the employer and the workers. This was in contrast with the Wagner Act which was more protective of the worker and only defined unfair labor practice on the part of the employer worker CITATION Ric15 \l 1033 (Richard H. Clough, 2015).
The Tart Hartley Act also created the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Its principal function was to employ dispute mediation and other conflict resolution mechanisms to champion for collective b...